Fine
by vause360
Summary: A single moment can change your life forever.
1. Chapter 1

"Holy shit Vause, you really do know how to throw a party. Thanks for tonight. You too, Chapman. Appreciate it." Nicky Nichols winked at her friends as she sauntered through the front door, as usual the last one to leave.  
Alex smirked and squeezed her girlfriend's hand. She and Piper had always been party animals. Always jetting across the globe, always drinking and having a good time. Especially Piper; she may look like a WASP but that girl could get wild when she wanted to.  
"I enjoyed tonight too, Al. That was the best one we've had in a long time." Piper drawled sleepily, looking up at the taller woman. Her face was pale and her eyes were hooded, clearly tired after the long night of dancing and vodka shots.  
"It was fun," Alex yawned, "But I think it's time we hit the hay, kid. You look like I feel."  
The two girls headed to the main bedroom of their shared apartment, slipped into their pyjamas and began their nightly routines with Piper, of course, hogging the bathroom. Alex lay in bed listening to the gagging sounds coming from the en suite and chuckled. Piper was always a lightweight.

A loud groan woke Alex from her peaceful slumber. As she opened her eyes and rolled onto her side, she saw her blonde girlfriend sat upright and clutching at her stomach.  
"Pipes, it's like 7am. What are you doing? Go back to sleep," Alex mumbled, "Wait, are you okay?" Alex sat up and took a good look. She pushed a strand of Piper's hair behind her ear, eliciting another groan from the blonde.  
"God, you must be really hungover this time. I haven't seen you look so green since that time in Mexico when you – whoa Piper!" Alex was interrupted as her girlfriend's nails pierced her skin. Piper's groans were becoming louder and she was doubled over in pain.  
"Al... Alex –" the blonde finally spoke, "Alex it hurts. It really hurts."  
Alex sighed. "Do you want me to go and get you some aspirin? I can make you that tea you like, too. That always helps." After 6 years of being together, Alex knew her girlfriend very well. Piper was always dramatic and best known for her exaggerating. Alex stood up to leave the room when she felt her girlfriend's icy cold hand grab her arm.  
"Fuck, Piper, you're freezing! What the hell is wrong?!"  
Alex stared down at the blonde, whose face was as white as she'd ever seen it, even compared with her usual pale complexion. Her baby blue eyes were watering and bloodshot. Although Alex would normally tell Piper to 'sleep it off', she hated seeing her girlfriend in such pain.  
"I think we should head to the doctors office, Pipes. You don't look great." The raven-haired woman began grabbing at whatever warm clothing she could find to cover up the shivering, bambi-eyed blonde in her arms. She somehow succeeded, and decided to carry Piper bridal style to her car. Alex could hear her girlfriend's rapid breaths, and felt the cold layer of sweat that lined Piper's forehead as she leaned on her shoulder. Alex was beginning to panic, as she hadn't seen Piper like this in a long time. Thoughts and scenarios raced through her mind as she tried to trace last night's events. Could someone have spiked Piper's drink? Had Piper taken any suspicious pills? With Alex's wild past, there were definitely some shady characters attending her parties. Someone could easily have slipped the blonde something on the sly. They finally reached the car and Alex carefully placed Piper into the passenger seat, strapped her in and raced back around to the driver's side. Their local doctor's office was, thankfully, all of five minutes away, especially when traffic was quiet. They reached their destination in no time. Alex swiftly parked her vehicle and stole a quick glance at her beautiful girlfriend. Alex Vause was very soft when it came to Piper Chapman. Very soft indeed, and the raven-haired woman worried about her. She was extremely protective and was always trying to shield Piper from danger.

They headed into the doctor's office, Piper managing to walk – well, shuffle – with a little help from Alex, and took a seat in the waiting room. Piper had yet to speak all morning apart from the few words she'd said in the bedroom, and Alex was beginning to get very anxious. The doctor finally called for them after around fifteen minutes or so, and they were directed towards a small room at the back of the building. Upon entry, Alex was immediately told to wait outside so that some tests could be done. She sighed and sat herself down on a cold metal chair situated a few feet away.

An hour had passed until a small creaking sound attracted Alex's attention. It was the door opening behind her, and the grey-haired sullen fellow who had called Piper into his office appeared behind it. Alex rose to her feet, and he beckoned to her.  
"Miss Vause, come in," he spoke in a hushed tone.  
Alex darted through the door, her eyes rapidly scanning the room for her blonde girlfriend. Piper was sitting in a chair with her shoulders hunched, and Alex rushed over in an instant to wrap her arms around the blonde. Piper burrowed her face into Alex's chest and clung onto her tightly. They stayed like this for a few moments until the silence was broken.  
"Miss Vause, here, take a seat," the doctor cleared his throat, "So, we did some examinations, and as you could tell they were quite lengthy. We did find a drug of some kind in Piper's system that may have been causing the symptoms she displayed… But that's not our cause of concern."  
The silver-haired man looked down at his hands, and Alex felt her stomach tighten. He bit his lip and looked back up at the women in front of him, who were currently in an embrace. Piper's head rested on Alex's shoulder and their arms were around each other's waists. Alex saw the look in his eye and knew he was about to say something not very pleasant.  
"Now… I mean, this might not be right… this couldn't… there are always…" The doctor stuttered, "We don't want to alarm you but during the testing we spotted something dark around this area," He pointed to the chart beside him, "Some very distinct cell gathering… It could be cancerous."


	2. Chapter 2

Cancerous. The word ripped through Alex's body like an electric shock. It couldn't be right. Surely not.  
"Excuse me?" Alex's tone grew angry, "Are you fucking kidding me? Check again. You can't be serious right now."  
Alex rose to her feet, about to go on a rampage when she looked down and saw Piper weeping quietly. She immediately snapped back to reality and threw herself at her girlfriend, tightening her grip as Piper sobbed louder. She stroked the blonde's soft hair and whispered reassuring comments into her ear.  
"Doc, you said it might not be right. Please tell me I heard that correctly." Alex turned her attention to the grey-haired man behind the desk.  
"You heard correctly indeed Miss Vause. These results and scans will have to be sent off to professionals who specify in this kind of illness and be tested even further to be able to string together a diagnosis," The doctor sighed, "Nothing is definite yet but what we are seeing in Miss Chapman's cells is quite a common indication of… of cancer." He whispered the last word.  
Alex's eyes bore holes through the carpet. She could not even look up at the man. Piper. Her Piper. How could her precious, beautiful, kind, lovely Piper have… cancer? Piper Chapman was a health fanatic who loved to run, dance and swim, and the girl had never touched a cigarette in her life. She'd done drugs all of three times, each time by accident and not a large amount. She was miles healthier than Alex had ever been, especially with her diet, only eating fast food when Alex begged her to. This made Alex feel sick to her stomach. Why Piper? Why not Alex? Piper didn't deserve this one bit. Sweet, innocent Piper. A tear rolled down the raven-haired girl's cheek as she attempted to swallow the information the doctor was feeding her. Something about a phone call and a meeting.  
"- So when it's all officially done we will have the nurses from Litchfield Hospital call you and uh… and let you know. Is that alright?" The doctor glanced at Piper who was currently staring into space and fiddling with the hem of her jacket. When she didn't acknowledge his question, he turned to Alex. He gave her a sympathetic smile and Alex simply nodded, reached for Piper's arm and left. She had nothing more to say.

The drive home was a very quiet one. Not an uncomfortable silence, as the girls were too close for anything to ever be awkward between them, but a silence that indicated neither of them knew what to say. As Alex pulled up into the driveway, she heard Piper stifle another sob. Alex took the key out of the ignition and turned to the blonde.  
"Pipes… I," Alex really had no clue what to say. She didn't want to patronise her girlfriend but she also didn't want to act like nothing was wrong. "You heard the doctor. It might not be right. Doctors get things mixed up all the time. Look at me, kid." Alex softly lifted Piper's chin with her finger. "This will be okay. It'll be fine. I'm here."  
Piper looked up at the raven-haired beauty with a child-like innocence in her large eyes, and Alex felt her heart drop to her feet. She couldn't stand the thought of Piper suffering. In their relationship, Alex was the protector. She had always kept Piper safe and never let anyone hurt her, especially anyone from her past. But now, Alex couldn't do that. She couldn't protect Piper from something that was possibly attacking her from the inside. For once in their lives, Alex couldn't do anything to help. And that terrified her.

The next week went by agonisingly slow. The two girls had attempted to go back to their normal lives, performing tasks like grocery shopping and Alex went to work as usual. But she couldn't concentrate and was sent home multiple times by her (furious) boss. How could she possibly concentrate when she was expecting news that could change both hers and Piper's lives? She willed the nurses to call, every morning waking up hopeful. Alex Vause was not a religious person in the slightest but that girl prayed day and night to any and every God she could think of, hoping for some miracle. Nothing was certain, like the doctor said. It could easily be a misunderstanding. Alex tried telling herself this over and over again but she knew, deep down she knew, what that phone call would bring. There was something about the look in that doctor's eyes that made Alex think he already knew her girlfriend's fate.

"Alex… I'm scared," Piper shuffled closer to her girlfriend. They were lying in bed facing one another. "What if it's bad news? What's gonna happen?"  
Alex sighed and stroked the blonde's cheek with the back of her hand.  
"I don't know kid. I don't know," She whispered, "We just have to hope for the best. Whatever happens happens. We can't change that. But we can try and get through it. You're a strong girl, Piper Chapman. You're brave."  
"You know," Piper smiled, "I don't think anyone has ever used that word to describe me in the history of the universe."  
Alex chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.  
"Well it's true. I love you, Pipes."  
"I love you too, Al. So much." Piper turned her body so she was facing away from Alex and moved as close as she could to her. Alex wrapped her arm tightly around Piper's waist and kissed her neck softly. The warmth calmed Piper down almost instantly, and she eventually let sleep overcome her body.

"God Piper, switch it off! It's so loud! Why is your alarm tone Walking On Sunshine?! It's too early for that shit, snooze it." Alex growled at the blonde. Piper always set her alarms extremely early for her morning runs, but never usually this early. It wasn't even light outside yet. Receiving no response, and hearing the chorus from the annoyingly catchy song continue to repeat itself, Alex sat up and rubbed her eyes. She put on her glasses and after a few seconds was able to focus on Piper, who was sitting up and staring down at the phone in her hand.  
"It's not my alarm," Piper whispered, "I… I think it's the nurses. I don't recognise this number. It has to be them, surely. It's been over a week now."  
Alex's body stiffened. This was it. This was the conversation that had the potential to change their lives.  
"Answer it," Alex squeaked, her voice cracking, "Pipes you have to answer it in case they don't call back."  
Piper looked up, and Alex could see the panic in her eyes. After a little hesitation, she hit the green button. This was it.


End file.
